> Second, Putin's adventure would not have happened in an environment of robust US prestige and power, but you appear to forget just how oddly our nation has be

> Second, Putin's adventure would not have happened in an environment of robust US prestige and power, but you appear to forget just how oddly our nation has been acting (at least as viewed from an external lens) in terms of our domestic politics. I believe Putin perceived Biden as weak. Big mistake. Both of his more recent adventures were during Democrat administrations. The 2008 Russo-Georgian war was during the GW Bush administration, when the US was busy in Iraq and Afghanistan.